Tristan Dennis has grown up volunteering, at least that is how he describes it. At eighteen years old, he has been volunteering for six years. Tristan volunteers with both Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC) and Morgantown Learning Academy (MLA). FODC is a nonprofit with the main goal of cleaning and maintaining Deckers Creek, and MLA is a nonprofit private school. Both organizations are located in Morgantown, WV.

The link between FODC and MLA is environmental, at least for Tristan. As a volunteer with MLA, he participates in the school’s Mountain Mallards program, which teaches children survival skills and about the environment. Tristan is part of FODC’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB), which allows volunteers who are to young to participate in the organization’s remediation projects a chance to do community projects. According to Tristan, it is the groups’ environmental focus that led him to volunteer with them. “They are environmentally based organizations, and that’s kind of my field of interest, rather than say Habitat for Humanity or one of the many other groups like that,” he says. Tristan’s father also serves on FODC’s board.

Volunteering with MLA and FODC gives Tristan an opportunity to interact with kids his own age and some that are much younger, which he says brings its own challenges. This summer the Youth Advisory Board spent a day volunteering at MLA. According to Tristan, despite enjoying volunteering with younger kids, having other YAB members there to talk to contributed to that day being one of his best volunteer experiences. “It was great to share the experience of interacting with them and teach them, as well as still having a fun time with kids our own age,” he says.

Tristan also enjoys the social aspect of volunteering with FODC. The group goes on frequent trips that aim to build leadership, while having fun outside. A recent trip to Cheat Mountain allowed the group practice wilderness survival skills, while enjoying a week of camping. According to Tristan, the trips add another level of enjoyment to his volunteer experience.

School-required community service was an additional early motivator for volunteering, but according to Tristan that requirement no longer serves as a motivator for him or anyone, as his school has dropped the requirement. He revealed, “We used to have four hours, four measly little hours, over four years of high school. That would have been the case, but now you don’t need any. Apparently four hours over four years is too much. It’s a little funny.”

Before the requirement was dropped, Tristan had already far exceeded the minimum required hours. He volunteers several hours a week, every other week, although his hours fluctuate depending on the project. He views his volunteering as something that is both fun and not a sacrifice of his time. According to Tristan, “. . . It doesn’t really take that much from you to spend a couple hours here or there giving your time.”